Invalid-supporter



ff {my MM flair/2w! ILPETERS, FNOTO-YLITHOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. D. C,

UNITED STATES PATEN T OFFICE.

JAMES T. ALSTON, OF RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA.

INVALID-SUPPORTER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 15,504, dated August 12, 1856.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES T. ALsToN, of Raleigh, in the county of Wakeand State of North Carolina, have invented a new and Improved InvalidsSupporter; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full andexact description thereof, reference be ing had to the accompanyingdrawings, making a part of this specification, Figure 1 being a sideview of said supporter; Fig. 2, a rear view; Fig. 3 a front view, withits left arm detached therefrom; Fig. 4, a vertical section in the liney 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a plan of the base frame of the supporterdetached from the back and arms of the same and Figs. 6, 7, and 8, arerepresentations of detached portions of said supporter.

Similar letters indicate like part-s in all the figures. i

The oblong frame composing the base of my improved supporter forinvalids is formed of two flat side pieces d, d, united to each other bythe central and aftermost transverse pieces is, and Z, and by theconnecting strap j, which is secured to said side-pieces near theirforward ends. Rearward from the central beam 76, the inner edges of theupper surfaces of the side pieces d, d, of said frame, have notchesformed in them, the use of which will be hereafter explained.

The cushioned back g, of the supporter, is hinged to the centralconnecting piece 70, of the base frame; and to the rear side of saidcushioned back, the connecting head of a pair of legs f, f, is hinged.The said legs f, f, are placed at such a distance from each other thattheir lower extremities will fit into the notches in the upper surfacesof the sides d, cl, of the base frame. Consequently, it will beperceived that the said legs f, f, can be so adjusted as to support theback 9, at any desired degree of inclination.

The arms a, a, of the supporter, are each rigidly secured to a pair ofstrong uprights b, I), which uprights have tenons of a dovetail shapeformed at their lower ends which are received into outwardly openingmortises of a corresponding shape, in the side pieces d, d, of the baseframe, but are not secured therein so closely as to prevent either arma, from being detached from the base frame whenever it may be necessaryto facilitate the placing of an invalid .in the supporter who is tooweak to sit up or assist himself in being placed therein.

To the inner side of each arm a, a flap 0, is hinged which has asemi-circular recess formed in the central portion of its vibratingedge. The said flaps c, 0, are of such a width that when they aresimultaneously raised to a horizontal position, they will abut againsteach other, and when in said posit-ion, the recesses in said flaps willmatch with each other and form a circular opening, as shown in Figs, 6and 7. By means of transverse grooves 0, 0, of a dovetail-shape, formedin the under sides of the flaps 0, 0, and sliding buttons m, m, workingin said grooves, or other equivalent device, the said flaps may bereadily retained in a horizontal position, and may be as readily letdown again to a vertical position.

A strap 72., which passes through loops n, n, secured to the rear sideof the cushioned back 9, is combined with the buckle-straps 79, p, whichare secured to the sides of the base frame, (as shown in Fig. 1,) andwhich prevents the possibility of the accidental falling of the back g,in case the legs f, f, should get detached from the holding notches inthe side-pieces cl, (Z, of the base frame.

In the under sides of the arms a, a, grooves of a dovetail shape areformed for the reception of sliding bars 6, e, that serve, when they aredrawn out, to support a board on which dishes for an invalid to eat frommay be placed.

A very great advantage that my supporter for invalids has over any ofthe invalid chairs known to me, is that it can be used in bed, to givethe invalid any required support under all circumstances. The back andarms of said supporter, it will be perceived, act in conjunction withthe bed to support the invalid in the most comfortable position. Thesides (Z, d, of the baseframe are connected to each other at theirforward ends, by means of the strap j, for the purpose of enabling aninvalid to sit upon the bed between the said side pieces, and besupported by the cushioned back 9, and the arms a, a, of the supporter.When the flaps 0, 0, are combined with each other,

they form a seat for the invalid to sit upon I when the supporter isplaced upon the floor.

Having thus fully described my improved supporter for invalids, what Iclaim therein as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Hinging the cushioned back thereof to the central connectingcross-piece is, of its base-frame, when the side-pieces of said frame infront of said cross-pieceare left open for the reception between them ofan invalid to receive the benefit of the back and arms of saidsupporter, substantially as herein set forth.

2. I also claim connecting the arms-a; a,

to the base-frame of the supporter in such a manner that either of saidarms can be readily detached from said frame and be combined therewithagain, whenthe said base-frame is left open in front and is combinedwith the back of the supporter, substantially as herein set forth.

3. I also claim combining the recessed flaps 0, 0, with the arms a, a,of my improved invalids supporter, when the said arms are arranged inconjunction with the base-frame and the back of the supporter,substantially as herein set forth.

The above specification of my improved invalids supporter, signed andwitnessed this 2nd day of May 1856.

JAMES T. ALSTON.

Witnesses:

Z. G. ROBBINS, WM. JENKS. v

